The present invention is related to a folding type portable information appliance. More specifically, the present invention is directed to such a folding type portable information appliance that an electronic component, e.g., a camera is mounted on a hinge portion of the appliance.
Very recently, portable type information appliances such as portable telephones, PDAs, and notebook type PCs are equipped with cameras. In these portable type information appliances, image information containing still images and moving pictures, which have been photographed by the cameras, may be reproduced. Also, the image information may be transferred from these portable type information appliances to personal computers and/or other portable telephones.
On the other hand, there are many opportunities that the cameras mounted on such portable type information appliances are used to photograph not only third parties and scenes, but also the own users. Thus, directions of these cameras, or lenses are required to be changed in response to use conditions. That is, in the case that the own users are photographed by the cameras, these cameras are required to be directed to the same side with respect to the displays, since the users perform photographing operations while photographed picture conditions are monitored on the displays, whereas in such a case that still images and/or moving pictures such as third parties and scenes are photographed by the cameras, these cameras are required to be directed to the opposite side with respect to the displays.
Under such a circumstance, for instance, such a technique for providing a camera on a hinge portion is known as a portable type telephone capable of freely changing a direction of the camera (patent publication 1). The hinge portion couples a first terminal main body having a display to a second terminal main body on which operation buttons are provided in such a manner that both the first terminal main body and the second terminal main body are foldable. Then, in this technique, the user directly and pivotally rotates the pivotally-rotating shaft of the hinge portion by his hand under such a condition that the first terminal main body and the second terminal main body are opened, so that the camera may be directed to a desirable direction. Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2000-253124
In the portable type telephone disclosed in the above-explained patent publication 1, when the camera is used, the pivotally-rotating shaft is manually and pivotally rotated in order that the camera can be directed to the desirable direction. However, after the camera has been used, the pivotally-rotating shaft must be pivotally rotated by the hand of the user in any time in order to return the present camera direction to the original camera direction before the camera operation, which necessarily requires cumbersome operations.
Such a problem may also occur in the below-mentioned cases. That is, for instance, in a portable type telephone, or the like, in which a camera is provided on the side of a rear surface of a first terminal main body having a display, such a single microphone is provided with a hinge portion in order that the single microphone is switched to be operable as a sound collecting microphone during a photographing operation of a moving picture and as a microphone for telephone communications, or this single microphone is switched to be operable as a sound collecting microphone during a photographing operation of a moving picture and as a microphone for entering narration. Also, this problem may occur in a portable type telephone, or the like which is equipped with a music/voice reproducing function, or a game function, a single speaker is provided with a hinge portion in order that this single speaker is switched so as to be operable as a speaker for notifying a telephone call and as a speaker for reproducing voice when a moving picture is reproduced and for outputting effect sound of a game.
In other words, the microphone provided with the hinge portion is directed to the same side with respect to the camera while this microphone is used as the sound collecting microphone when the moving picture is photographed. In the case that this microphone is used as the microphone for telephone communications, when the photographing operation is accomplished, the direction of this microphone must be directed to the same side with respect to the display. Also, while a telephone communication-purpose microphone is separately employed, even if the above-described microphone is used as either the sound collecting microphone or the narration entering microphone, the microphones must be returned to the normal conditions (initial conditions) when the photographing operation is accomplished, assuming now that any one of the above-explained two camera directions is defined as the normal condition, in order to avoid such a case. That is, when a subsequent photographing operation is carried out, this photographing operation is performed under such a condition that the microphone is still directed to the unwanted microphone direction.
On the other hand, the speaker provided with the hinge portion is directed to the same side with respect to the display when this speaker is used as the speaker for reproducing the voice and the effect sound. However, in such a case that this speaker is used as the speaker for notifying the telephone call, when the reproducing operation of the moving picture is accomplished and the game is over, this speaker must be directed to the outer surface side of the case in order that the user can hear the telephone call sound even if the cases are folded.